Torres proving critics wrong, says Atletico boss Simeone |
- Torres proving critics wrong, says Atletico boss Simeone
- Charlie Hebdo: Niger bans magazine over Muhammad cartoon
- Test to the limits: Astronauts’ year-long stay at space station
- Tom Cruise to reunite with director Liman in ‘Mena’
- Cat-eating eight-foot alligator found at LA home
- Survey calls for corporates to beef up cybersecurity
| Torres proving critics wrong, says Atletico boss Simeone Posted: 15 Jan 2015 05:13 PM PST
Torres scored in the first minute of each half to ruin Cristiano Ronaldo's Ballon d'Or celebrations as the Cup holders were dumped out 4-2 on aggregate after a 2-2 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu. "When he came out of the academy he was a boy, too young for everything that happened then but he still responded well," said Simeone. "He went away, grew up and now is a man. I am very happy for him. In games like this he responds as he did. "The fans are happy and his arrival has helped us, despite some people's doubts." Torres was only handed a start due to an illness suffered by Mario Mandzukic in the day before the game, but his inclusion proved to be inspired as he slotted home from Antoine Griezmann's cross after just 46 seconds. Sergio Ramos levelled before the break, but Griezmann and Torres combined once more at the start of the second period before Ronaldo salvaged a draw on the night for Carlo Ancelotti's men. Simeone admitted such an early blow helped to sap the home side's energy, but refused to accept Atletico now have the Indian sign over their neighbours after going five derbies unbeaten so far this season. "Such an early goal changed the rhythm of the game. It wasn't in the plan." "Every time we face Madrid we face an extremely strong team. They are the best team in the world, they just won the Club World Cup and the Champions League." Despite scoring his first two goals at the Bernabeu, Torres refused to hail his performance as his best in an Atletico shirt and reserved special mention for the part played by Griezmann in setting up both goals. "To play at the Bernabeu is difficult. As soon as they equalised they could see a chance to go through, but the second goal allowed us closer to the finish line. "We want to keep advancing in all competitions. We need to enjoy this moment because we are happy. "It was a great game, but it is not my happiest day in Atletico shirt. I finished well today but it is thanks to Griezmann." Ancelotti lamented his side's slow start to both halves, but believes elimination at such an early stage of the competition could help their defence of the Champions League. "The key to the game was the two errors we committed at the start of each half, but we can't forget other parts of the game like how we played in the first hour, which for me was spectacular. "Now we have three weeks to prepare well for the Champions League and this is very good for the team." And Ronaldo agreed with his coach that the rest accumulated in the coming weeks should help them to finish the campaign strongly. "We can't take away the value of the Cup, but the league and the Champions League are more important. "We always want to win, but we have to look at the positives. This will allow us to concentrate on other competitions. "At times it is better to take one step back to then take two forward." — AFP   |
| Charlie Hebdo: Niger bans magazine over Muhammad cartoon Posted: 15 Jan 2015 05:08 PM PST
"The government vehemently denounces and condemns the cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed, peace and blessings be upon him, contained in the issue of Charlie Hebdo for Wednesday, January 14, 2015, which it considers an insulting provocation and totally unacceptable," it said in a statement read on radio and state television. "Also, on the instructions of the president of the republic, the government has decided to ban the publication and sale of this issue across the country," said the statement read by government spokesman and justice minister Marou Amadou. President Mahamadou Issoufou was one of six African heads of state who took part in the march in Paris following the jihadist attack on the magazine. He was strongly criticised by Muslim associations and local non-governmental organisations for saying on air "We are all Charlie". "His participation" in the Paris march "stems from his commitment against terrorism and for freedom" and "does not imply any support for the abuses that can arise from a certain notion of press freedom", said Amadou. Niamey also justified the president's participation in the march because of France's commitment to fight militants in the Sahel. In Africa, Senegal has also banned distribution of the latest issue of Charlie Hebdo. — AFP  |
| Test to the limits: Astronauts’ year-long stay at space station Posted: 15 Jan 2015 05:05 PM PST
American astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will launch aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on March 27, and they will stay until March 2016. The trip marks the longest amount of time that two people will live continuously at the ISS, though a handful of Russian cosmonauts spent a year to 14 months at the Russian space station Mir in the 1990s. Both Kelly and Kornienko are space veterans who have flown multiple missions to orbit, and each has already spent about six months at the space station. Kelly said some things will be different this time. He will keep a personal journal, and also plans to do his first spacewalk, as part of ongoing efforts to reconfigure and fix up the space station. But he said he is concerned about the impacts of radiation and living in zero gravity, particularly in terms of compromised immunity and bone and vision loss. "I'm hopeful that there is not a big cliff out there with regards to our ability to stay and live and work in space for longer periods of time," he said. "But we are not going to know that until we have actually done it," he added. "The jury is out." Physical rigours The physical effects of a year in space will be closely monitored by doctors on the ground in an unprecedented study of how the human body withstands the rigors of spaceflight before humans plan to journey to Mars. Kelly's twin brother Mark is part of the experiment and will undergo regular health checks on Earth so doctors can compare the brothers' vital signs. Genomic testing is being done too for the first time to see if and how spaceflight changes a person's bodily makeup, said Julie Robinson, International Space Station programme scientist. "We have never done something like the twin study where we sequence the genes of both Scott and Mark and we look at the gene expressions and different markers," she told reporters. The Russian space agency has shared its data from the year-plus Mir missions in the 1990s, but science has advanced since then, she said. "At the time, the standard was to be making fairly observational measurements about how long they could exercise, how strong they were when they returned to Earth," she said. "Our Russian colleagues mostly thought that running on a treadmill was the most important thing to do and it is certainly important for maintaining your cardiovascular fitness," she added. "But what we found on ISS was that intensive resistance exercise is what really helps people protect bone." Psychological effects Among the things he will miss on Earth, Kelly mentioned his family and the weather. Kornienko, who said he would bring a picture of his late parents and his family with him to space, agreed. "As our song says, 'We dream of the grass by our home,'" he said through a translator. "And it's true. That's what we dream of. Also the water that doesn't fly around in bubbles but water you can actually swim in." Gennady Padalka of Roscosmos will fly to space with the two men, serve as commander at the ISS and return after six months. "This will be my fifth flight, almost 900 days in space, and I am very interested how this will affect my own body," he said, also through a translator. Padalka said he plans to take photos of oil spills, fires, glaciers and areas that are being altered by human impact. For the two men who stay on for a year, the psychological challenges may be harder than the physical ones. "By being far away from Earth, being sort of cramped and having few people to interact with, I think that will be the most difficult for these guys to withstand," Padalka said. Kelly, too admitted that he felt ready to go home about four months into his last six-month trip. But he said he gets along well with his Russian colleagues. "I couldn't ask for a better two professional cosmonauts to fly with. We are all great friends," he said. "I will be very sad when Gennady leaves. But he said he will be in Baikonur (Kazakhstan) when we land six months after he departs," Kelly added. "And he says he is going to carry Misha and I out of the Soyuz like we are little babies." — AFP  |
| Tom Cruise to reunite with director Liman in ‘Mena’ Posted: 15 Jan 2015 05:04 PM PST
Initially to be helmed by Ron Howard, "Mena" has been handed over to director Doug Liman, with Tom Cruise in the title role as the pilot Barry Seal. The film is inspired by the true story of the commercial airline pilot turned drug trafficker, who transported contraband for the Medellín cartel in addition to working for the CIA and the DEA. Cruise and Liman, who are currently in negotiations with Universal, made waves in Hollywood last summer with the sci-fi movie "Edge of Tomorrow." Cruise will add the project to a busy schedule that already includes "Mission: Impossible 5," which is currently shooting, and the sequels to "Jack Reacher" and "Top Gun." Liman, meanwhile, is attached to helm the adaptation of the video game "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell," which is in turn inspired by the novel of the same name. — AFP-Relaxnews  |
| Cat-eating eight-foot alligator found at LA home Posted: 15 Jan 2015 05:03 PM PST
Animal control officers armed with a search warrant discovered the alligator, estimated to be about 40 years old, in a closed box with the cat remains at the home in Van Nuys, Los Angeles Animal Services Commander Mark Salazar said. Salazar said Animal Services was conducting a full criminal investigation and called on any residents in the area who have lost small pets at "any time over the last 40 years" to contact the department. As of Thursday, no arrests had been made or charges filed. Keeping wild animals without a permit is illegal in Los Angeles. Ron Gorecki told the Los Angeles Times in an interview that he had helped his sister care for the alligator, named Jaxson, since her husband, its original owner, died last year. "We tried to give him a good home," Gorecki told the paper, adding that the animal was his brother-in-law's "pride and joy". Gorecki told the Los Angeles Daily News that Jaxson fed on "chicken, hot dogs, stuff of that nature – nothing live", leaving the family's cats alone. "Basically, what they're trying to say is that we're taking our cats and feeding them to our alligator," Gorecki told the newspaper. "That's not what happened. There's never been a complaint, never been a problem." Gorecki could not be reached for comment by Reuters yesterday. Animal control officials had searched the home late last year after receiving a tip about a large alligator there, but didn't find anything. When they returned this week, the resident, who was not identified, wouldn't let them in, so officials came back with the warrant, Salazar said. The alligator was taken to the Los Angeles Zoo. — Reuters  |
| Survey calls for corporates to beef up cybersecurity Posted: 15 Jan 2015 04:58 PM PST
Less than 40 per cent of board members in the FTSE 350 Index companies said they viewed cyber-attacks as a more serious risk than other potential pitfalls, the survey said. "This is a clear indication that boards have some way to go to understanding the consequences that a cyber-attack can have on the brand and bottom-line," Malcolm Marshall, global head of KPMG's cybersecurity practice, said in a statement. The World Economic Forum said data fraud and theft as well as cyber-attacks are among the 10 biggest threats to global stability this year in its annual Global Risks report published yesterday. In the last year, hackers have stolen customer records from JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Sony Corp.'s entertainment unit faced a stream of embarrassing revelations about health records, movie stars' fees and private e-mails for weeks after a group known as the Guardians of Peace broke into the company's computers. Almost three quarters of the companies surveyed by KPMG said their boards were taking cybersecurity seriously. While more than 60 per cent of board members said they have a good understanding of their firm's data assets, just 24 per cent said they regularly viewed risk management regarding that information. "Cybersecurity may be moving up the board agenda but clear communication between Boards and management remains patchy at best," Marshall said. — Bloomberg  |
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